Life Changing Summer Travels
by Madeleine Jete
Summary: A young college students gets the chance to study in Cambridge for a summer. A chance meeting has her ending up in a place she only dreamed about. **CHAPTER FOUR UP**
1. Leaving the States

Disclaimer: The only thing I claim to own is Madeleine and the plot. All Harry Potter related characters and locales are property of JK Rowling.

This story is partly based on some truth, but mostly it's a merging of various daydreams, replacing myself with a character I created long ago. The movie mentioned would be the Sorcerer's Stone, and the edition of _Goblet of Fire_ would be the British adult version, with its nice subdued cover, and paperback. I'm not entirely sure where I'll go with this, but given time, I'm sure it will find its own path for me.

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Life Changing Summer Travels

"Is miss wanting more tea?"

The squeaky voice of a house elf brought Madeleine's mind back to reality, a reality that still seemed to be a daydream.

"No Mert, I'm fine for now."

The house elf vanished and Madeleine looked back out the window onto the grounds below. The term had yet to start and things were fairly quiet at Hogwarts.

_ Hogwarts_

Never in her life did Madeleine think she would be at Hogwarts. Oh sure, she had imagined it, and daydreamed about it like many of her friends had when they started reading the books. Like all her friends, she assumed that Hogwarts was truly a place of fantasy, invented for a story. The speculation on where it could possibly be located due to weather, countryside, train lines surrounding the supposed platform 9 ¾ were something they did to pass the time.

And now she knew they were wrong. Hogwarts was a real place. Very real.

Looking back out the window her mind drifted back nearly a year.

* * *

_Early October, 2001_ _– Hallway_

Maddy stepped out of a meeting with the chair of the department, who also happened to be her advisor and noticed a printout posted on the otherwise empty board.

_*Study abroad in Cambridge eh? Hey they're offering theatre classes…and one of them would fulfil a requirement. Hmmm…have to take two...maybe an English class as well then…need more information, and applications aren't due until February.*_

_Late November, 2001 – After the first movie_

"What did you think of the movie Madeleine?"

"I have to go to England this summer." She turned to her parents, "I want to apply for the Cambridge program this summer, can I?" A number of reasons for them to say no were going through her head; travel was dangerous after what just happened, she had never really been far from home by herself for more than a week, and such. She wasn't worried about travelling or being on her own. She didn't know why she felt she just had to go there this summer, but she felt she would explode if she didn't go.

To her surprise, her parents agreed.

_Late March, Early April, 2002 – Theatre_

Maddy had just opened the letter from the Reeve's Centre in the side lobby and startled people when she jumped up with a gasp. She had been accepted to the program and would be studying in Cambridge for 6 weeks.

_30 June 2002 – Norfolk, Virginia_

She was nervous, but for good reason. She had never had to worry about making connecting flights, for that matter she had never flown overseas by herself. Between the excitements of finally going somewhere out of the States, and the nervousness of making her connection, it was very hard to sit still and appear calm, but she managed.

Security was fairly painless. She did have to stop to deal with her laptop that she insisted on bringing with her. She was going to Cambridge to study after all. The plane from Norfolk was a small plane. She could feel her nerves arguing with her mind. It had been awhile since she had flown, she wasn't surprised that she was a tad scared.

The rest of the plane was a group heading to Los Angeles, and the brief flight allowed her to worry less about flying, and more about what she would do when she arrived in London the next morning. Of course she had to get through the connection at Dulles first!

Finding the gate was actually fairly easy, and she did have plenty of time before the flight actually boarded. Sitting in the waiting area, she chose to take in her surrounding and update her travel journal rather than rereading _Goblet of Fire_.

It was very busy, with lots of people everywhere. She wasn't thrilled with that, crowds tended to make her nervous. There were a few children, but not many, so the noise level was reasonable. Sitting across from her was a man with shoulder length black hair, with a rather distinct nose dressed all in black. She smiled to herself, knowing that if some of her friends were here, they would be discussing how he fit the description of a certain potions master. He didn't seem too thrilled about the crowds either, and chose to spend his time scowling at the people who dared to sit near him.

Boarding came, and Maddy rushed to join the line. She knew she had a window seat and wanted to get there and be settled before whoever was sitting next to her came. That, and the sooner she got on the plane, the less people to push through to get to her seat, and the less people to try to take up her overhead space.

Moments later she was aboard, with her travel journal in the pocket of the seat in front of her, and _Goblet of Fire_ on her lap, looking out the window. The seat next to her was empty, did she dare hope that no one would sit next to her? She opened the book and picked up reading with the start of the Triwizard tournament. She was quickly absorbed into her reading and didn't notice the person sitting down next to her.

She barely stopped reading when the flight attendants came out to do their pre-flight speech. She glanced up long enough to notice someone had seated themselves next to her. It was the Snape-look-a-like. Her natural shyness kept her from attempting to start any sort of conversation. He probably wouldn't be too thrilled if he discovered that she was one of those annoying people who would talk to a complete stranger whether they wanted a conversation or not.

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Okay, that's it for now, though I think I will be writing more tonight. Please review. It's been too long since I've written anything, and I think I've gotten much worse.


	2. Arrival

Disclaimer is the same as Chapter one

Thank you for the review Magical Mischief Maker. Perhaps part of the reason for the lack of reviews is that the story was posted rather early [about 4 am est.], but then not everyone is spending their holiday avoiding sleep.

And before everyone gets mad at me for some comments made later, I don't hate Harry, but his lack of common sense bothers me [and friends] a LOT.

And yes, I know this is out of character, but who really knows how he acts when he's not around the students during term?

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After awhile Maddy gave up reading. Dinner would be served soon. The stranger next to her seemed oblivious to the rest of world, deeply absorbed in a book of his own. Sighing, she closed the book and looked out the window into complete and utter blackness. Closing the window and glancing at her watch, she realised it was much later than she had thought.

She was just about to turn off the light and try for a short nap, when suddenly a low, smooth voice full of disdain asked, "Harry Potter fan?"

Why she felt the need to defend her reading of a popular book, she would probably never know, but she tried to justify herself.

"Of the books yes, of the character himself, no. There are times where I feel that he's a complete idiot…" She trailed off at that point. She knew that she was about to launch into one of her arguments about the idiocy of Gryffindors that is oft mistaken for courage to a complete stranger.

The stranger looked amused. 

"Really? Your friends probably disagree with you about that. Well if you're not a fan of Harry, then which character do you like?"

Maddy paused. She would rather listen to him talk, with his slight accent, than talk herself. The moment of courage to justify herself had gone, and now she was feeling foolish, but answered anyways.

"Actually sir, most of my friends agree with me, and we are slowly succeeding in convincing others of the same. As for characters, I like Hermione, but, like Harry, she seems to lack common sense at times, my favourite character…" Again, she paused. She knew what she wanted to say, but if this man was somewhat knowledgeable of the books, he probably wouldn't have a positive reaction. Instead of prompting her, he just sat there watching her, waiting for her to finish. "…would be the potions master, Professor Snape."

He looked surprised at that comment, but chose not to comment on that. Maddy was wondering what he was thinking, and what his name was. After that little confession, she was afraid that he would think that she thought he could be the potions master. He might have noticed her discomfort and moved the conversation away from characters to subjects.

"Well that would make you a potions fan then. What else other courses would you choose to take?"

"Well I'm not a chemist, and don't really see myself becoming one, so potions may not be my first choice." She relaxed a bit. Here was something her friends did, comparing their life, and chosen paths to equivalents in that fantasy world. "I suppose with the work I do, Charms and Transfiguration would be first choices. Numbers and animals have always fascinated me, though I don't think I could really concentrate on them, but Care of Magical Creatures and Arithmancy do seem fun."

"What sort of work do you do that would relate to Charms and Transfiguration?" He seemed interested, rather than just trying to be polite.

"I work in the field of technical theatre. A lot of things I do appear to be magic to those who don't know better." Maddy was much more confident now. Few people outside the theatre field knew much about her area of expertise, and she enjoyed enlightening people. The conversation continued along the same lines through dinner.

A few hours later, Maddy was starting to get nervous again. She was arriving a few days early, and had failed to book a place to stay and wasn't entirely sure what to do about it. Her friends had suggested a few places, but she had no idea where they were located. She also had no idea as to what the name of the man next her was. She had enjoyed her conversation with him, and hoped to get in contact with him again.

Once again, her nerves overcame her and she didn't ask. Upon arrival they went their different ways. He was, after all, a native, and she had to deal with getting her passport stamped and such. They met again on the Heathrow Express. They talked a bit about why Maddy was there, though she never found out exactly what he did.

Upon arrival at Paddington Station they would have to part again.

"It was nice meeting you Madeleine, perhaps we'll run into each other again."

_*How did he know my name? Maybe I mentioned it at one point*_ They were headed towards the Underground entrance, and Maddy noted an information area that advertised hotel bookings. She would need to stop there.

"Please, call me Maddy. I enjoyed our conversations, but I never caught your name…" He was heading towards the Tube and glanced back.

"I'm sorry, my name is Severus…" And before either person could react, a large group came between the two.

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Okay, so it's a bit short, but Sinfonicron starts soon, and I'm hosting people, which mean my flat needs to be cleaned.

I know I tend to use the British spellings. A habit enforced by friends.

And I was going to have him give her a middle name, perhaps base siblings' names on other Roman Emperors, but the only Severus that really fit was Septimus Severus…Lucius Septimus Severus, and to say he had a brother named Lucius just wasn't working for me. 

And here is where I really on muses and such for the rest of the story.


	3. Cambridge!

A/N: Alright, another chapter. I was considering rewriting the first chapter and ending it at chapter two, but I decided to keep going. Now I'm trying to decide just how much writing I want to do. I have an idea for a continuous story involving my main character, or maybe I'll just end it here, but I have a bit of time to decide.

And if there are more if you who read this, other than myself and Magical Mischief Maker, I apologize for the slow update. Term hasn't started yet for me, but I'm the Technical Director [Master Carpenter/Shop Foreman type position] of the _The Music Man_ in a theatre camp. We have less than two weeks to get this thing up and running. And that's a LOT to build in that time. Tech rehearsals are giving me a chance to catch up somewhat with my non-theatre life. That an I forgot the name of the Underground stop that the hotel I'm thinking about was at.

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Maddy watched him leave before turning towards the counter. Everything seemed a haze as the name actually sank in to her mind. She vaguely realised what she was doing until she stopped out of the Underground at Bayswater and discovered that she had no clue where her hotel was.

After getting briefly lost, she arrived in her hotel room and sat down. _His name is Severus, and he probably thinks I'm a complete idiot. Now he'll probably think that *I* think he's a Hogwarts…wouldn't it be fun if it were possible? No, it's not possible, but a fun thing to joke around about with my friends._

On that final thought, Maddy gathered her camera and a few things she thought she would need and went out to explore London and find food.

For the next two days, Maddy spent time touring around London, getting hopelessly lost and therefore discovering things that she probably would not have found otherwise. There were a few times where she swore she could have seen Severus in a crowd, but she was never sure.

She was almost positive once when she was wondering through Charing Cross. She got stuck in a crowd and caught sight of a man she would have sworn to be Severus. When he caught her eye, winked and smiled, she was certain it was him. A little voice in her head also confirmed that there was definitely no possibility of him being Professor Snape from Hogwarts. His reactions were just, well, un-Snape-like.

Suddenly it was time to figure out what train to take and where Christ's College was and how to get there from the train station, and, well, a lot of other things. So much was on her mind that she wasn't really paying attention to her surroundings except to note a very crowded King's Cross station.

_To quote a book, 'Full of muggles' and I'm one of them_. She allowed herself a small smile and made her way to her platform, platform nine in fact. _Huh, no barrier between 9 and 10, another illusion shattered, oh well._ She barely looked up from her book [A Virginia Wolfe that needed to be read for class] when someone sat down next to her.

"Drastic change from Harry Potter isn't that?"

Maddy replied without thinking, "It's for a class, and I need to get it read by…" looking up and seeing who was next to her, she completely lost her train of thought. Severus had been the one to sit down next to her. He smiled in greeting and waited for her to continue. Feeling really foolish, she tried to continue the conversation, weakly and with a feeble smile, "So how are you?"

"I am feeling well…and how about you? It seems," as he took the book from her hands, "that you're worrying about academics during your summer holiday? Oh, that's right; you're going to Cambridge for academics aren't you?"

Having no reason to really speak to explain herself, Maddy just nodded, feeling a bit silly. She felt as if she should impress this man somehow, but she didn't know why, or how. This Severus was a rather nice guy and helped ease Maddy into normal conversation. The hour train ride passed quickly with Maddy trying to explain the American education system, starting with colleges and working backwards, while he asked many questions.

The train seemed to arrive all too soon to the Cambridge station. To her surprise, Severus was getting off at Cambridge as well. In fact he insisted that he take her to Christ's College. She was extremely grateful for that. She was certain that she would get lost on the way without help.

Checking in with porters, having porters was a surprise that she quickly adjusted to. Severus helped her bring her one piece of luggage to her room and insisted that they meet for lunch. She wanted to, but had no idea what her schedule would turn out to be and when she would have free time. They still managed to find a time to meet for dinner the next day.

Once she unpacked, Maddy went down to the Porters to wait for people to come and to find out what was going on. She knew there would be a meeting that night, but she had no idea when, or where. No one else seemed to know either, and she hoped that if she waited long enough, one of the professors would know and would tell them.

There was talk amongst some of the group about how much one of them would miss their boyfriend for the six weeks that they were to be in Cambridge. She was just talking about how she would rather stay longer than to go straight home, when one of the Porters joined the conversation and jokingly commented on the man that she had shown up with being the reason that she wanted to stay. She didn't tell anyone that she was meeting that man the next night for dinner.

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Okay, should I come up with more instances in London where Maddy thinks she saw Severus? And in actually, the author was such a dunce when she was trying to find Christ's College. The bus stop was across the street from the entrance, and your esteemed author walked past it three times before making that realisation.  
  
And so there we go. I need to dig up some stuff to get actual places for them to meet. Chapters may get shorter as I still need to decide how I want to continue this thing. I'm leaning towards ambitious so there may be a prologue at some point.

And now that I'm back on course, updates will be few and far between, but they will happen! I'll let you know if I decide to stop!


	4. Capiendum et Transformandum

A/N: Yay work, and school. *grumbles* Anyways, I promised I would try for another chapter by March, so this is what you'll get. On the plus side I'll be back in Scotland over my spring holiday, and may write a chapter and post it when I return.

And I was going to have them eat at the Little Tea Room [and get a knickerbocker glory like my friend and I did when we discovered they had them] but I couldn't bring myself to write about them eating at a place that would've been closed.

And as I'm facing mild writer's block, the story is going to move quickly here, though there is a random chance I'll come back and rewrite parts of it.

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The first day of classes at Christ's College started early for Maddy. Still, once the class was over, she would have plenty of time to explore her new surroundings before her other class.

Throughout the course of the day she was given information for the first excursion that weekend, from meeting for the trip, to returning Sunday evening. A trip to Stratford-Upon-Avon, seeing two plays and staying at Birmingham University Friday and Saturday, stopping by Oxford, and so much more to pack into three days!

Maddy's head was spinning at the thought of everything happening that weekend when she wandered to the Porter's to check the post and meet Severus. Severus took her off to The Eagle for dinner. A nice place that thankfully had a no-smoking section. Maddy wasn't quite used to the constant smoking that seemed to go on around her and was glad to be in an area where people wouldn't be smoking.

Dinner was a pleasant meal. Nothing exciting or incredibly memorable happened. Though after dinner, Maddy realised that she didn't learn anything new about Severus.

These thoughts were soon forgotten when she woke up Friday and got ready for an adventurous weekend. After a rather long ride in the coach, they arrived at their first stop. As excited as Maddy was, she was already starting to feel mildly claustrophobic. She wasn't used to large crowds of people, and was never really comfortable with them. Still, it was a minor thing, and only caused her to feel squished, but didn't detract from her general enjoyment.

That night was _Much Ado About Nothing_, and a long trip to the place they were staying. Saturday brought a morning of the semi-finals of the Henley Royal Regatta. Grateful she chose to dress up somewhat for the event, she didn't feel extremely out of place like her fellow peers in jeans. Though she wasn't thrilled about being moved about like a herd of cattle, and opted to leave the Regatta for a bit and explore the town.

She managed to lose all sense of direction and was lost after a few turns. At one point she passed an archway in a wall and merely glanced as she walked by, and thought she had caught the site of people in robes, though if not in robes, there was certainly a lot of colour. Stopping and backing up she was disappointed to discover the archway merely led to a side alley, a rather drab, and colourless side alley at that.

Returning to Stratford, was a night of _Edward III_, which chased away thoughts of the mysterious sight earlier for a brief time. At the intermission however, she went and stood out of the main seating area in an effort to shake the feeling of claustrophobia she was suffering. She was staring at her program, deep in thought about that archway when she was surprised by someone coming to stand next to her.

"Fan of Shakespeare as well?"

Lo and behold, it was Severus. Though how or why he was there baffled her. She merely nodded, _*Has he been following me around? No, he couldn't have been, I didn't seem him yesterday after all. So why is he here?*_

"You seem to have something on your mind other than the performance, care to share?"

"Well," Maddy paused a moment, while he just looked on expectantly, _*He'll think I'm silly and seeing things. Still, I have to tell him something, might as well tell him the truth,*_ "I was at Henley earlier today and could've sworn I saw something down an alley, but when I checked, nothing was there. I just thought it odd that so much colour and so many people could disappear that quickly." _*There, I've said it, now he'll think I'm insane*_

"Henley? Interesting..." Severus stood there thoughtfully for a moment, then asked her a number of questions about what she had seen. Maddy was confused, it was just her mind playing tricks on her, nothing that important. Or so she thought.

"What's so interesting about this?" Maddy decided not to answer his recent question, wanting answers of her own before the show started up again. Severus just looked amused at her bewilderment.

"Nothing, nothing at all," and then without giving her a chance to ask another question, "looks like we should get back to our seats if we don't want to miss anything." With that he turned and left her with her thoughts.

Her remaining time at Cambridge went by quickly. A good friend was there for a different summer program, and she met new people. She still met Severus often, though he never brought up the discussion of the archway, and Maddy didn't question him about it.

She would have forgotten about the strange even in Henley if an impossibility hadn't happen on her last day in Cambridge [but not in the UK!]. She had taken the time to explore some the used bookstores before the dinner with the rest of the group. She was looking longingly at the reproductions of Shakespeare's first folio, when her eyes caught sight of a bookshelf hidden in a corner. Not taking her eyes of this shelf she swore she hadn't seen earlier, she made her way over to it, discovering it contained books with Latin titles.

Not really willing to dredge up her knowledge of Latin she just gazed at the titles and prices. Some were actually being sold at a price that she would be wiling to pay and she considered getting one. She was being silly. After all she had two more weeks of travel, and she would probably never really get the chance to actually translate any of it, but she felt she should have one. In fact a book titled _Capiendum et Transformandum_ seemed to be begging to be bought. As she picked it up her mind worked on translating the tile..._*Capiendum...that's what? The gerund of capio isn't it? Right which could make it capturing, so capturing and transformandum. That's another one, transformo, transformare, to change shape, transform, transfigure. Wouldn't be funny if this were something like charming and transfiguring? Right, it's probably something about one of the wars...still. It could be fun.*_

She hadn't brought her Latin dictionary with her, but did a quick online search to confirm that capio, capiere could indeed mean charm. She decided that whatever it actually was, she would enjoy pretending that it was possibly some book from a wizarding world on charms and transfiguration. She didn't mention the purchase of the book to anyone, not even Severus when she met him later that evening.

She had to admit that she was coming to like Severus. A lot. She would miss him when she returned to the States. They agreed to met again before she returned home, after her week in Ireland.

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A/N: Okay, I think I'll stop there. I am going to jot down ideas about Ireland and the return though coherent sentences won't happen until my mid-terms are over and done with. I may end up changing the title of that book, but it is indeed meant to be "Charming and Transfiguring" and as I don't feel like actually looking up "to charm" right now, it'll stay that way until I get a chance to really think about it.

Cheers!


	5. Latine scire

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Maddy woke up early. Today was the day to catch the train to Holyhead, and then the ferry to Ireland. Planning on returning to London, she only packed up her knapsack with what she would need and a few things to do when everything was closed. One thing that came along was _Capiendum et Transformandum._

The train ride was uneventful. Maddy had the chance to wander around Holyhead for a little while before she had to catch the ferry. She ended up spending time by the water, climbing over rocks and taking the difficult way around the island. Actually arriving on the ferry was a little disappointing. Taking a seat by a window that looked out into water, Maddy decided to take a look at _Capiendum et Transformandum_ and possibly look into translating it. A bit of a task because she had nothing to reference to.

Opening the book, she noticed someone had scribbled in tiny, neat handwriting something in Latin. _*Interesting. The previous owner couldn't have given this up too long ago. I wonder what this says…Latine scire?* _She stared at that, leaning her forehead on her hand, and repeated it a few times, not realising that she had said it aloud. _*Latine is obviously Latin. Scire, 4th declension imperative. To...to, um, errr. Guess I don't remember as much as I thought. There's more handwriting on this next page, in Latin again....but I can actually understand it!_

_~Having trouble reading?_ If you need help for class work, translate it yourself! If you're reading for pleasure, there's a translation spell written in this book. Find it and read it aloud while pointing your wand at your forehead. Have fun!~

_*Huh. Whoever wrote this had far too much time on his hands. Translation spell and wands…hah! ....Still…if those words were a translation spell, it might possibly explain why I can understand this stuff written in Latin…but I didn't have a wand, in fact I don't have a wand! And I seriously doubt the possibility of me having wandless magic._

At this realisation the ferry arrived at Dun Laoghaire and Maddy didn't really have time to dwell on the book, but instead needed to worry about catching the correct train to Dublin and then finding the hostel she had made a reservation at.

_ *There is no way I have any sort of magic. I'm lost in Dublin, no one seems willing to give me directions, or has no clue where the place is that I'm looking for, and everyplace that would sell a map is closed. *Sigh*_

After about a half hour of wandering, Maddy finally found the Ashfield House, the hostel that she was planning on staying at that night. After arriving, and finding an empty bed, and getting dinner the thoughts about the book vanished completely.

_ *I'm not liking Dublin. And I'm not entirely sure how I feel about sharing a room with 14 other people. I certainly don't want to set my alarm for an early time and disturb other people. I'll just have to trust myself to get up early. Cork tomorrow and a visit to Blarney Castle...*_

In fact thoughts about Severus, the book, or the strange sight that she saw at Henley went completely out of her mind. Getting hopelessly lost in Cork pushed those thoughts further out of her mind.

Limerick gave Maddy time to relax and mull over past events. She arrived earlier than planned, and the place reminded her of home city, she relaxed, enjoyed herself and went out to explore a bit. After exploring King Jon's castle, she sat down by the River Shannon to look through _Capiendum et Transformandum._

Before actually opening the book, she took the time to take in her surroundings. It was a chilly day, and she was out by the water, so she didn't give a second thought to a group of people that wandered by and seemingly disappeared, and who appeared to be wearing capes. She was wearing a fleece cape herself and was grateful for it's warmth.

Deciding that nothing out of the ordinary was happening, she opened the book and started reading. The moment she opened the book and began to read, she remembered the previous events. Looking up from the first few words of the first actual page_ ~Transfiguration and Charms, these two fields...~_and staring straight out over the water. _*I can read this without effort. Can I really do magic? And this book, I was drawn to it, and it is Transfiguration and Charms….like the subjects they teach at Hogwarts. Could Hogwarts be a real place?_*

She returned to reading, discovering that after that first introductory chapter, it went on to actually teach various methods of transfiguration, suggesting various exercises, some of which she remembered reading about in the _Harry Potter_ books.

Looking up and noticing that it was getting dark, she wistfully closed the book and made to leave. She wished that it was indeed a possibility to transfigure something, but knew that even so, she didn't have such abilities. Wandering back to her room, she cheered up slightly when she remembered that she would be meeting up with Severus in London when she returned the next day.

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So I promise that we'll see more of a relation to the Harry Potter world soon. I can't guarantee when the next update will be, if soon or no t, but I am still writing this thing...


	6. A familiar face

The problem with travelling alone is not so much becoming homesick, rather the want a friendly face.

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If there was a beautiful sunrise, Maddy never saw it. Having a very flexible schedule, and a room to herself allowed her to take as much time as she wanted to actually open her eyes. She still ended up getting out of bed fairly early.

She arrived at the ferry with plenty of time. Sitting down in the waiting room, Maddy tried to sort through all the thoughts going through her mind. Accomplishing nothing, she decided that schoolwork would help get her to focus, and so pulled out her laptop and finished the essay that would be due on her return to the States.

The essay took much longer than she expected, and the ferry journey was about halfway over when she was satisfied. Finding her thoughts were not swirling about in her head, Maddy decided to take the time to read a bit more of _Capiendum et Transformandum._ She wished that the text had some grain of truth, and that she could try out some of the exercises it put forth.

_~When one has mastered transfiguring animals into objects and objects into animals, then it is time for the next step. Once the following step is mastered, preparation can be made to learn to transfigure oneself. Again it is best to start small, turning a butterfly to a moth, a mouse into a rat. Subtle changes, but the best to start with...~_

Maddy glanced up from her reading. The TV in the front of the section was showing the BBC's tribute to Elvis. _*Transfiguring oneself huh? I wonder if that's like becoming an animagus.* _She would not be finding out on this ferry journey as announcements were made for passengers to prepare to leave.

It was still fairly early in the day, and if she got off quickly, she could grab the earlier train back to London from Holyhead. If she missed that one, it would be a two hour wait before the long train ride back. That train's main purpose it seemed was to pick the people up off the ferry and so she had no worry finding a seat to herself.

Nearing London, Maddy read a passage that had her staring out the window wishing the magic were truly real. _~Having mastered those techniques, it is time to start working on transfiguring yourself. A few words to the wise, NEVER try to transfigure yourself into an object, and it's strongly advised you have someone there who can help counter any mishaps that may happen. Now many think that a person had no control over the animal they can transfigure into, and that such form is the only form one can take as this is supposed to reveal one's personality. This is not true. If one is well trained, and has skill, patience, and intellect, one can transfigure themselves into any animal they choose. In fact it is wiser to choose an animal to transfigure into than to let the shape come by chance.~_

She didn't get the chance to continue reading as the train had arrived in London, and she could see Severus on the platform. How he knew when she would be back, and what train she would be on was a mystery. She didn't think twice though. She had been travelling alone for awhile, and a friendly and familiar face was welcome. Eager to get off the train she didn't bother packing away the book and rushed off to greet Severus.

They went to have dinner at Jonathon's. After being seated and given menus, Maddy made to put up the book, but Severus caught sight of it first.

"So I see you've been reading despite being out of class. Quite studious, aren't you? What is this?" He had a hand on the book, and apparently wanted to see it for himself. Maddy was reluctant to let it go, but did.

"It's nothing really, just something I picked up at a bookstore in Cambridge."

Severus had opened the book somewhere past where she had been reading and looked up at her. He seemed somewhat startled, "You can read Latin?" Not watching her for a response he went back to the book, appearing to be able to read it as well.

Maddy wasn't sure what to expect, but somehow that wasn't it, nodding and then realising he didn't see her, "Yes, I did spend a number of years studying it. Can you?" He nodded in response, and then was forced to put the book up as their food arrived. he choose to continue the conversation as they ate.

"You say you found the book in Cambridge?" Having a mouth full of food Maddy nodded. "How much longer are you do you have before you return home?"

"A little over a week, why?"

"I have a few friends I would like you to meet. They take interest in the sort of things this book discusses. If you're interested, we would need to travel to Scotland where they currently are."

Maddy nearly choked with surprise. _*People who take interest in transfiguring and charms, most likely in a way outside of the world Rowling created with Harry Potter. That would be interesting. Do I trust this man that much though to take a trip with him and meet his friends? Yes, yes I do.*_ She realised that he seemed to be waiting for a response, "Could we? I mean if you don't mind introducing me..." _*And now I can't talk, I've become a babbling idiot*_

He nodded and looked a bit distant for a moment, "Of course, we can leave tomorrow in fact. We could leave tonight, but I would rather not spend all night on a train. And I would suggest bringing all your luggage with you in case you decide to stay until just before your departure."

* * *

Morning couldn't come soon enough for Maddy, she was getting a chance to travel with a friend, or at least she was hoping she could consider Severus a friend. They agreed to meet in front of platform 4 before boarding they're train. Maddy had indeed brought all her luggage with her, a suitcase of books, a medium sized box of books, and her knapsack that contained actual clothes. 

King's Cross was insanely crowded at that time in the morning. Severus seemed to appear out of nowhere looking a bit rushed. "We're not taking the train at platform four, but we need to hurry to catch our train." And at that he tugged at her to follow and they moved so quickly in and out of crowds, Maddy lost track of which platform they were at and was grateful to be ushered into a train and allowed to sit down.

Severus had stepped out of their compartment to check on something, and had left Maddy alone. Having carried _Capiendum et Transformandum_ with her, rather than packing it, she opened it to continue reading about methods of transfiguring oneself into an animal. She was deeply immersed in her reading and was seriously considering trying some of the steps that seemed feasible without magic when the train started to move and Severus returned sliding the door shut behind him.

_*Wait a minute, door? I haven't been on a train once this summer that had individual compartments now that I think about it. What train is this? It doesn't look like a Virgin or GNER train...*_

Severus's voice cut through her thoughts before they could travel far, "I suggest you relax and get some rest, it's a rather long train ride, when we near our destination I'll have a few things that I'll need to explain to you." Maddy merely nodded and made to return to reading her book when Severus moved next to her and place a hand on the book, "Why don't we set the book aside for now? Surely we can come up with something to occupy our time together. For instance, what is in your luggage? It certainly didn't feel like clothes."

Allowing him to take the book from her, she gave a sheepish smile, "The books I bought while I was here."

Severus seemed startled that someone could and would willingly buy that many books of their own free will in that short of a time. He said as much and they continued conversing. After about two hours, Maddy began to doze off, and two and half hours into the train ride found her resting against Severus taking a nap.

Three hours into the trip, the train came to a sudden jolting stop, waking Maddy and causing her to grab at Severus to keep from falling off her seat. She caught an amused look on his face before they were plunged into a sudden darkness.

"Se..Severus, wha-"

"Shhh..." For a moment there was complete silence, then "Stay here, I'm-" Before he could complete the door to their compartment opened on it's own, and then Maddy was assaulted by horrendous memories that she had hoped she had pushed from her mind. Memories that she had recently confronted with both professional help and the support of her friends.

Letting go of Severus, Maddy curled into a ball and began to whimper. _*Why now? WHY? Things were going so well. I thought it was supposed to be a gradual decline into depression, not a sudden drop. What was it they told me? I would know when I was going to hit a low point, it would still be overwhelming, but I had to remember that it won't last. It won't last. But god, I just want to die. These memories, I feel so worthless, so pointless. I'm a waste of space and air.*_

She didn't notice Severus stepping over her to confront the dementor that she couldn't see.

_*I'm a pathetic excuse for a human being. I should just die...I can't, Aunt Edith would be distraught to lose more family members. Aunt Edith. That's right. I can do this, I can fight depression. I have more friends now. Friends like Shannon and the crew back at home* _Without realising that she was actually doing what she was mentally trying to do, Maddy gritted her teeth and stood up, fighting the ever increasing wave of depression, and shouted, "NO, I HAVE FRIENDS, I HAVE PEOPLE WHO CARE FOR ME," Severus was startled, he had never seen a muggle stand up to a dementor's effects before, and turned to look at her, forgetting for a moment that he was the one who would have to chase it away. "I HAVE A REASON TO LIVE, I WANT TO LIVE, AND I'M GOING TO LIVE!!!"

Maddy shouted those last few lines with clenched fists and slammed a fist through the air, in doing so a cloud of silver shot from her through the air and encased the dementor. It was then that Maddy realised she had actually said and done what she thought was a mental battle and Severus was looking at her in shock. Turning pink she muttered, "Oh, um, I'm, um..." At that moment there was a bright flash and both Severus and Maddy looked at the door, and both saw a robe in a small pile at the door. Severus turned back to Maddy just in time to see her faint and catch her.

*:-.,_,.-:*'``'*:-.,_,.-:*'``'**:-.,_,.-:*'``'*:-.,_,.-:*'``'

Sorry it's taken so long to update. But I've had my own dementors to battle...a long hard battle that has been won with professional help and much support. I have a vague idea of what I want to do with this, but I'm not sure if I'll ever get it to where I want it. I will bring it full circle before completely leaving everyone hanging. I also promise that I'll do my best to not make Maddy a Mary Sue character. Real life is a bitch.

Thank you for the reviews. There are some Order of the Phoenix influences, but nothing I think is noticeable.


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